And…the Grace Awards 2011 Finalists Are…

The Grace Awards 2011 is now into its second year. What a ride it’s been. This year we had and avalanche of reader nominations to determine our finalists. The number of reader votes was up more than double from last year.

All nominations for any novel must be accompanied by at least a 25 word statement telling why the novel was nominated…a sort of mini-review or” notice”. This year the reasons given were astute and outstanding. There is no doubt that the Christian reader is both intelligent and perceptive.

And now…the finalists in five categories are…

WOMEN’S FICTION:

Fresh Start Summer by Beverly Nault (Lamp Post Inc.) ~ Hollywood movie shoot upsets small town. 

After The Snow Falls by Carey Jane Clark (Trestle Pres)  ~ Can a mother find hope when illness threatens her son?  

When Sparrows Fall by Meg Mosley (Multnomah Books) ~ Mother of six tries to escape Christian cult.

ROMANCE/HISTORICAL ROMANCE: 

Give the Lady a Ride by Linda Yezak (Port Yonder Press)  NYC professional woman vs. Texas bullrider.  

Husband Material by Annette Irby (White Rose Publishing)  Can widower find new love with feisty restaurant owner who has no time for a relationship?  

Burning Hearts by Nike Chillemi (Desert Breeze Publishing) Dressmaker and WWII hero hunt a viscious arsonist/murder, while finding sweet young love.

MYSTERY/ROMANTIC SUSPENSE/THRILLER:

The Witch Tree by Karin Kaufman (Amazon Digital Services) ~ Genealogist finds woman’s body, husband blames her,  modern Wiccans confound the issue, killer targets her.

Goodbye Noel by Nike Chillemi (Desert Breeze Publishing) ~ With bodies piling up in a tiny village, can a pediatric nurse protect an orphaned infant from the killer and trust the stalwart village detective on the case.

Kill Shot by Anne Patrick (Desert Breeze Publishing) ~ Former combat medic is home and somebody is trying to kill her, almost as disturbing is the sheriff who’s trying to save her.

SPECULATIVE FICTION:

Split Sense by Barbara Ellen Brink (CreateSpace) ~ Someone is testing a new drug on pregnant women, enter twins separated at birth who possess paranormal gifts.

Wickflicker by Teric Darken (Treasureline Publishing) ~ College boys combine booze, womanizing, and Ouija, and then it really gets weird when they get involved in an arcane society.

Winter by Keven Newsome (Splashdown Darkwater) ~ Goths aren’t all the same, some are Christians and some have the gift of prophecy.

ACTION-ADVENTURE/WESTERN/EPIC FICTION:

More Precious Than Gold by Lynn Dean (Amazon Digital Services) ~ Woman flees to western frontier but finds she can’t escape the hatred of the Civil War, add new dangers with the quest for land and gold.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Catherine West (Oak Tara) ~ Woman journalist covers Viet Nam War to get a Pulitzer, teams up with silent, brooding photographer who is hiding something.

Shadowed In Silk by Christine Lindsay (Whitefire Publishing) ~ After the Great War a woman returns to India with her son and her British officer husband ignores her, but an international spy might be targeting her.

YOUNG ADULT:

Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan) ~ A merchant’s daughter is trapped in servitude to a Lord who is terrifying, but danger lurks for both of them.

Song Of The Ovulum by Bryan Davis (Living Ink Books) ~ A set of twins and their friend are in prison where experiments are being done on them, secrets of the past are being revealed, enter an ancient demon.

Finding Angel by Kat Heckenbach (Splashdown Books) ~ A foster child dreams of a fantasy land and meets a friend with magical “talent” who revives lost memories and leads her to her homeland.

Grace Awards 2011 Reader Nominations Ended at Midnight on Leap Year

 

The Grace Awards polls opened on December 31st at midnight, 2011 with our cyber New Year’s Eve party. So, it might be poetic that they end on February 29th at midnight, 2012 on Leap Year.

We’ve had many more than twice the number of reader nominations for the Grace Awards 2011 Finalists  than we did last year.

Finalists in six categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Romance/Historical Romance, Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Romantic Suspense/ Detective Series, Speculative Fiction, Action Adventure/Western/Historic Epic Fiction, and Young Adult.

Since the nominating process is entirely up to inspirational literature readers, it’s sort of like making sausage…a crazy experience at times. Although there were many, many more entries than last year, some received only one vote. Yet, even a novel receiving one or two votes can be grateful for the readers who took the time to vote.

We are still counting votes and the cream is rising to the top. We will release the titles and authors of FINALISTS on March 3rd.

Three finalists in each category will be determined by the number of reader nominations received in those categories.

Grace Awards 2011 Winners will be selected by a panel of three judges in each category. Winners will be announced on May 10, 2012.

Novels released in 2011 who received reader nominations came from a wide variety of publishing houses: White Rose Publishing, Desert Breeze Publishing, David C. Cook, Lamp Post Inc., Trestle Press, Love Inspired, Whitefire Publishing, Port Yonder Press, Revell, Two Shoes Publishing, Create Space, Zondervan, Splashdown Books, Zonderkidz, Sword of the Spirit Publishing, Thomas Nelson, NavPress, Living Ink Books, Bethany House, Vinspire Publishing, Xulon Press, as well as others.

Grace Awards Voting Has Begun!!! Happy New Year!!!!!

Copy and paste the official voting questions below (scroll to bottom) into an email and send it to: graceawards@aol.com

CRITERIA FOR NOVELS:

Original novels presenting a Christian worldview written in English and originally published in English, released in hard cover, trade paperback, or in Ebook format.

Traditional publishers, Small press, Indie publishers, self-published works. To us, Pbooks and Ebooks all compete on the same level playing field. Where a question arises, the Board makes the final decision, but it is not our aim to exclude, but rather to be inclusive.

Readers can only vote for novels released between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.

Most of all, the novel must reach the highest of literary standards and add something of value to Christian fiction and the Christian community.

Only one novel by an author can final in a category.

WHO CAN VOTE FOR NOVELS:

Individuals (not organizations) readers who maintain a networking page (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, ShoutLife, Linkedin, Ning sites, etc.) created before November 1, 2011.

An individual not affiliated with the Grace Awards (and not in the publishing industry) will tabulate votes.

If a novel is submitted in an incorrect category, the Board’s Voter Panel will move it to the correct category rather than discount the vote. The Panel makes all decisions on what votes will be accepted, but it is not our aim to exclude or disqualify, but rather to be inclusive.

Authors can vote. You are readers too. You can’t vote for your own novel(s).

Board members and judges can vote, but not for their own book(s).

Grace Awards 2011 Voting Questionnaire  – this is the only one that will be accepted!

-Copy and Paste this Official Grace Awards Voting Template onto an email. Send it to graceawards@aol.com

-Vote in as many categories as you wish – one title in each category, only

*****

Copy and paste the Official Voting Questions below into an email and send it to: graceawards@aol.com

Give A Link To Your Social Networking Page (web address to your page put up before November 1, 2011, so we know you’re a real person):  Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari, Linkedin, a Ning Page, MySpace, ShoutLife, or the like. If you do NOT provide a link, your vote is invalid.

Womens Fiction Title (serious women’s issues, can have humor and/or suspense elements). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Contemporary Romance/Historical Romance Title (the primary element is love/marriage, be it now or then). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Suspense/Mystery/Romantic Suspense/ Thriller Title (crime fiction, there’s probably a body). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Speculative Fiction Title (SciFi, fantasy, horror, etc.). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Action Adventure/Western/Historic Epic Fiction Title (exploits, quest, a feel of wide-open spaces, expansive). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Young Adult Title (appeals to ages 15 – 21-ish). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

 

December 31st Kicks Off Reader Voting

The Grace Awards is reader driven. That means in the first round readers vote for novels in five categories:

Women’s Fiction(serious women’s issues, can have humor and/or suspense elements).

Contemporary Romance/Historical Romance (the primary element is love/marriage, be it now or then).

Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Romantic Suspense/ Detective Series (crime fiction, there’s probably a body). Why you like the story: (At least 25 words)

Speculative Fiction Title (SciFi, fantasy, horror, etc.).

Action Adventure/Western/Historic Epic Fiction (exploits, quest, a feel of wide open spaces, expansive).

Young Adult (appeals to ages 15 – 21-ish).

Voting will begin on December 31^st. Anyone who reads faith-based, inspy, Christian themed novels can vote. Authors can vote…but not for their own novel. Judges and Grace Awards Board members can vote…but not for a novel they’ve written. Anyone who reads Christian fiction can vote…but not until December 31^st.

 This blog will have detailed instructions for voting. Stay tuned.

You can also go to the Grace Awards group on Facebook or to the Grace Awards page to find information about voting.